SOCIAL MEDIA

Why you need to advertise yourself on Social Media:We live in a social media crazed age, and this is where your target au-dience spends most of their time. Couples will want to see your web-site as well as your social media pages to see examples of your work, see what others have to say about you, see if they like your “online per-sonality”, and make sure that you are still in business. Millennials will question whether or not you’re in business if you haven’t posted on your Facebook in 6 months! This is an incredibly important form of advertising you cannot neglect.

WHAT TO POST Photos & videos of current happenings. On all social

media plateforms posts that include a video or a photo will be viewed SIGNIFICANTLY more than just text.

Sales & specials

Events you are attending

Content that your target audience would enjoy. Arti-cles, blogs, etc.

Things that capture your attention.

NOT POSTING can make a potential customer think you are out of business.

WEEK 1 Did you...

Post a photo on Facebook

Post a photo on Instagram (include at least 3 hashtags)

Create a Pinterest Board and add a few photos*

WEEK 2 Did you...

Post a video on Facebook

Post a Video on Instagram (include at least 3 hashtags)

Add more photos to your board

WEEK 3 Did you...

Post a special (include a picture)

Post the same special on Instagram (include at least 3 hashtags)

Add more photos to your board

WEEK 4 Did you...

Post a link to your Pinterest Board

Share your Pinterest on Instagram as well (include at least 3 hashtags)

Make a new Pinterest Board

* it is better to pin photos that link back to your website

FACEBOOK2.01 Billion Users

53% Women 47% Men

Ages 18-49

INSTAGRAM800 Million Users

32% Women 23% Men

Ages under 35

SNAPCHAT301 Million Users

38% Women 15% Men

Ages under 18-34

PINTEREST200 Million Users

36% Women 15% Men

Ages 18-64

TWITTER328 Million Users

21% Women 21% Men

Ages 18-29

LINKEDIN252 Million Users

23% Women 28% Men

Ages 18-49

Source: Omnicore Agency

SIMPLE START CHECKLIST

CREATING A POSTAN ENGAGING POST INCLUDES

Eye catching photos or video

Relevant hashtagsIf you are talking about reception tables use #wedding decor # wed-dinginspirations

Tag peopleTo tag someone use @username

Credit when applicableThis post was shared from another business, so be sure to include who you shared it from. If the photo isn’t yours, always be sure to credit the photographer.

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UNDERSTANDING WEBSITES Domain or DNS: The domain is your website’s

address. Make your domain name memorable and easy to spell.

IP address: This is the technical address of your website. Your domain hides this number.

Web Hosting: A server (computer) that holds your website files that can be accessed for the internet. Hosting options available are:

Website Builders - great for beginners. They usually have a web-based interface, templates and will walk you through the builidng process. Weebly and Wix are great examples of these.

Shared Hosting - You and another website share one server. This can be cost-effective because you are sharing the cost of the server with others, but they tend to be slower.

Dedicated Hosting - This is a server that is ded-icated to your personal website. This option is more expensive but is great for larger sites.

Collocated Hosting - You can buy a server and house it locally. This for more advanced website developers.

Flash components

Background music

Too many colors

Too many fonts

Looks cluttered

Lots of text

Inconsistent design

Bad quality images

Old looking images

No contact information (or hidden)

No social media links

A clear design

Visual hierarchy

Simple text

Professional high quality photos

White space

Simple Navigation

Conveys a value proposition

Works on multiple devices

Includes a call to action

Regular updates

Links to Social Media

Clear contact information

BAD SITES HAVE:

GOOD SITES HAVE:

GLOSSARY THE GOOD VS. THE BAD

WHAT IS ARESPONSIVE

WEBSITE

Responsive design is an approach to web page creation that makes use of flexible layouts, flexible images, and cascading style sheet media queries.

The goal of responsive design is to build web pages that detect the visitor’s screen size and orientation

and change the layout accordingly.

WRITING BLOGS

Business blogs are a great way to reach out to current and potential customers without having to

spend a dime. However, this does not mean they are right for every business. If you start a business blog when it is not necessary, or go about it the wrong

way, you could waste a lot of time and effort.

BLOG IDEAS:

•

Written Posted:

Does it have:

•

Written Posted:

Does it have:

•

Written Posted:

Does it have:

•

Written Posted:

Does it have:

Should you write a blog?1. Do you have a lot of free time? A. I typically have a day or two

each week where I tackle small tasks.

B. I’m barely fitting in time to eat. C. I’ll make time if it’s important

enough.

2. Which sentence best fits the thoughts in your head?

A. Oh, it’s nice out today. B. I love waking to the melod-

ic song of the airborne choir as the first rays of sun peek through my window to caress my face.

C. Today is like that feeling you get when your dog chooses to cud-dle on your lap. It’s like a warm embrace from Mother Nature.

4. What would you call an article about wedding cakes?

A. A Piece of Cake B. Icing on the Cake: Top 5 Wed-

ding Cake Flavor Combinations C. Wedding Cake Designs

5. What does SEO stand for? A. Share Every Opinion B. Sports Entertainment

Organization C. Search Engine

Optimization

3. Do you typically have an opinion about new trends and technologies?

A. I always have something to say, and I like to share my thoughts with others!

B. Regardless of whether I like a new trend or not, I’m all about embracing change.

C. I’m more of an observer. I like to hear what others are think-ing before forming an opinion

SCORING: 1. A=1, B=2, C=3 2. A=2, B=3, C=1 3. A=2, B=1, C=3 4. A=3, B=2, C=1

5. A=1, B=3, C=2

TOTAL POINTS

1 – 5 POINTS START A BLOGYou have the time, ideas, and understanding that it takes to make a blog success-ful! Do your research, develop a clear voice, and outline a timeline. You should post at least once a month to keep your content fresh and updated. Come up with a list of ideas and start writing!

6 – 8 POINTS A BLOG MAY NOT BE RIGHT FOR YOUBlogs can be hugely successful if you have a clear voice, opinion, and understand how SEO and website design works. If not, you may end up writing blogs that no one sees. Consider sharing others’ content – like the blogs on TodaysBride.com - on your social media accounts.

9 – 15 POINTS HIRE SOMEONE TO WRITE A BLOGThe fact that you’re considering a blog on your website is great! You have opinions and you want to share your experience and knowledge with prospective clients, but you just don’t know how. Consider hiring someone to write blogs for you!

A catchy title

300-500 words

Pictures with alt-attributes

Proper credits

Links connecting to other pages on your website

Meta description

Tags

Headers & Subheaders

A catchy title

300-500 words

Pictures with alt-attributes

Proper credits

Links connecting to other pages on your website

Meta description

Tags

Headers & Subheaders

A catchy title

300-500 words

Pictures with alt-attributes

Proper credits

Links connecting to other pages on your website

Meta description

Tags

Headers & Subheaders

A catchy title

300-500 words

Pictures with alt-attributes

Proper credits

Links connecting to other pages on your website

Meta description

Tags

Headers & Subheaders

WEDDING SHOWSWHAT TO BRING

TO A SHOW Electrical Cords & Surge Protector

Mobile Device Chargers

Sales Literature

Business Cards

Appointment Book

Clipboards

Booth Design Layout

2-Wheeled Dollie & Transporting Devices

Masking Tape, Scotch Tape, Shipping Tape

Scissors, Stapler, Safety Pins, Straight Pins

Portable Vacuum/Steamer

Pens, Sharpie Marker

Trash Bags

Aspirin, Band-Aids, Second Pair of Shoes

Breath Mints

Cash for Concessions

Good Selling Plan & Attitude

Lead Forms (see below)

12345

PROMISING LEADS

BRANDING & EXPOSURE

ONE-UP YOUR COMPETITION

GAIN CREDIBILITY

NETWORKING

A wedding show will connect you with quality en-gaged couples. These couples are your target audience and they are actively searching for experts like you to

help them plan and execute their wedding.

You’ll get to showcase the quality of your products or services in person, making your company more visible,

accessible, and recognized by your target audience.

By exhibiting in a show, you can see what your competitors offer or how they stand out to potential

customers. What are they doing that you could also do, or maybe even do better?

If your business is just starting out, you need to make a name for yourself. You need to become recognized in the industry by other professionals and known to

prospective clients.

Having connections is so important to becoming a credible wedding resource. Plus, they can help you

market, too! If they like your work, they’ll refer you to brides and clients they meet with.

5 REASONS TO DO A SHOW

LEADS: QUESTIONS TO ASKWhen trying to sell any millenni-al, your conversation should be focused on them, not you.

While your contact form should only include basic information like name, email, wedding date, and phone number, you should take notes on details about them from your conversations.

It’s important to build a relation-ship with prospective customers, so ask questions about them to get them talking! Start with:

ABOUT THE WEDDING: What’s your vision? How formal do you want

your wedding to be? Do you expect it to be an intimate

gathering or large celebration? Do you have a theme or color scheme?

ABOUT THE COUPLE: How did you meet? How did he/she propose?

Do you have any pets? What’s your favorite movie? Do you have any hobbies?

LEAD FORM Bride’s Name:

Groom’s Name:

Wedding Date:

Phone Number:

Email:

Notes:

1 2 3 4 5It’s a permanent

way to reach your target audience.

Your ad will last forever. With Google and Face-

book ads, you’ll probably have an end date just because your budget

isn’t limitless. With print, you have endless views

and no end dates.

72% of couples today are using

magazines when planning for

their nuptials. They can flip through

pages, mark their favorite pictures, get in-spiration, and even find

out about local wedding companies they never

heard about before.

You won’t be aiming in the dark.

The people who read bridal magazines are

actively engaged in the content. They’re inter-

ested and they want to learn more. It’s a cost effective way to reach the people who will

actually make the call to book you.

Consumers find it more credible than

internet ads or a Google search.

Anyone can post their business online.

If you Google wed-ding photographers in

Northeast Ohio you’d get 162,000+ results. If you look at a bridal maga-zine, you’d find 10-15.

Print advertising increases your

exposure. Not only does it in-

crease your pass-along exposure (from bride to

bride), but it will also increase your search exposure, which will

boost traffic to your site and therefore boost your

website’s presence.

DO... Make your business name prominent Make it easy to contact you Give a specific call to action – Book your appointment by December 12 to get 20% off! Include your website address Display an eye-catching picture

DON’T Have lots of text. While it’s okay to give couples an idea of what you offer, you’re still the sales person, not the ad. Print ads serve as an in-troduction to your business; they’re not meant to seal the deal. Include lots of pictures. One image can be more impactful than 4 or 5 small photos.

Understanding the specsWhen setting up an ad for print, you or your designer will to need to know the following:

• Size of the ad. Usually sizes are written width x height, but be sure to verify the orientation before designing.

• Trim size. The final size of a printed page after excess edges (bleed) have been cut off to give it “printed to the edge” look.

• Bleed size. It is very difficult to print exactly to the edge, so to achieve this it is necessary to print a slightly larger area than is needed and then trim the paper down to the size (trim).

• Safe area. A smaller dimension than your final ad size. It is important to pay attention to this because this is where your most important infor-mation should be. Any content outside of this is in risk of being cut off!

BLEED AREAThis is the area where the background color/ graphics should cover if the ad is to be printed to the edge of the page.

TRIM LINEThis is where the paper will be cut. The trim can vary slightly, that is why we have the bleed area, to make sure your background comes right to the edge.

SAFE AREAImportant information should be placed within the safe area. Anything outside the safe area is in danger of being cut off.

BLEED AREA

TRIM LINE

SAFE AREA

1/4”

1/4”

Anatomy of an ad.

THE

PE

RFE

CT

AD

PLAN YOUR AD1. Where will this ad appear in? Print Web Other

2. Trim X Safe X Bleed X (WxH)

3. What do you want your message to be?

4. Do you have a special offer you can include?

5. Include: Logo Website Phone Number Address

Other Content:

5 REASONSTO ADVERTISE IN PRINT

WHAT’S THE FORMAT?

RASTOR FILE FORMATS VECTOR FILE FORMATS

RASTORIMAGES

Pixel-based graphics. Photos are an example of a rastor image.} VECTOR

IMAGES

Made with points, lines, and shapes to create art that is clean, camera ready, and can be scaled infinitely, without any loss of quality. Great for logos, icons, and type.}

JPG – Joint Photo Expert Group Faster file format used for images and pictures. Is de-structive; more compression of the image, smaller file size, more degradation of image quality. Not good for type, logos, graphic. Cannot be made transparent.

PDF – Portable Document Format Captures all the elements of a printed document as an electronic image that you can view, navigate, print, or forward to someone else.

GIF – Graphic Interchange FormatSaved rasterized type, logos, graphics to very small file sizes. Uses limited colors, so not ideal for image. Can be transparent. Can be animated. For web only.

EPS – Encapsulated PostscriptA file created in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop that contains vector shapes and type. Not commonly used, but still supported. Used only for print.

PNG – Portable Network GraphicUses more colors than a GIF but still not ideal for images. Can be made transparent. Options are PNG- 8 or PNG- 24 for true transparent effects. Not good for print.

AI – Adobe Illustrator fileNative file format for Illustrator files. Supports transpar-ency, vector type and objects, paths and layers. AI file type not supported for web.

TIFF – Tagged Image File FormatPhotoshop file that can be saved with layers, channels, masks, and path, but does not support transparency in the saved file. For print files only.

PSD – Photoshop DocumentNative file format for photoshop files. Supports trans-parency, channels, masks, layers, paths, and vector objects, For print/photos. PSD file type not supported for web.

Rastor images can be placed in vector file formats.

CMYK 4-color printing process that stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black

RGB Light-based (screen) color model that stands for red, green, and blue.

HIGH VS.

LOWRESOLUTION

Low-resolution (72dpi) images are used on the web and will ap-pear okay on a screen. High-res-olution (300 dpi) images are used for print. A low-resolution image will print pixelated (right photo).

An easy way to know if you have a high or low resolution is to look at the file size. If the file size is Megabytes (MB) you most likely have a high resolution pic-ture which is great for print. If it is Kilobytes (K) it is low reso-lution, which may work on the web but not in print. LOWHIGH